Question 1 (40 marks)

Study the case below and answer the following questions

Legend Hotels & Resorts is a hotel management group with hotels located in the premier cities addresses across Asia Pacific. There are two Five-Star luxury hotels and four Three-Star hotels under the management of the Legend Hotels & Resort in Hong Kong. The two flagship Five-Star luxury hotels located in Central and Tsim Sha Tsui East respectively and amidst the citys most prestigious shopping, cultural and business areas while the rest of the four Three-Star hotels located in Causeway Bay, Yau Ma Tei, Mong Kok and Tsuen Wan. Each of the Five-Star luxury hotels offers 450-500 expansive rooms and luxurious suites and 8-10 finest restaurants and bars while each the Three-Star hotels offers 200-250 rooms and suites and 3-5 restaurants and bars. Richardson Lee is the General Manager of the Legend Hotels & Resorts in Hong Kong. In each of the hotel, they have the same organizational structure, there are ten Departments including Resident, Corporate Communications, I.T., Human Resources, Administration, Finance, Marketing & Sales, Engineering, Purchasing, Food & Beverage.

Under the direct impact of the pandemic, the business of Legend Hotels & Resorts plummeted due to the reduction of inbound tourists, the occupancy rate dropped to only 20% and the room price plummeted nearly 30% year-on-year. With a sign of slowing down for the spreading of COVID-19 in Hong Kong, to give a turnaround to the hotel business, Richardson intends to formulate a turnaround strategy and action plan. A special task force team has been established with representative from each department. The mission of the task force team is to provide recommendations to improve the existing organizational structure so as to save costs and boost business and get well prepared for the turnaround plan.

You are being appointed as a management consultant to give recommendation to Richardson for a better management of the hotel.

1a. Refer to the case above, critically examine any new structure you may propose to Richardson after studying the existing organizational structure of the Legend Hotels & Resorts in Hong Kong. (10 marks)

1b. Critically evaluate in what FIVE ways the use of group decision making in form of a task force team to propose and formulate turnaround plan is better than just making the decision by Richardson alone? Elaborate your point of view by referring to the case above. (10 marks)

1c. Refer to the case above, given those challenges of managing teams in the transition during and after the re-structuring period, critically evaluate in what ways the Five-Stage Group Development Model can be used to enhance team effectiveness for Legend Hotels & Resorts? (20 marks)